| ► Judge Elizabeth Halverson of Las Vegas; moron, ethical gremlin |
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Judge Elizabeth Halverson of Las Vegas; moron, ethical gremlin
Halverson was elected to the bench in Las Vegas in 2007. It didn’t take long for courthouse employees and attorneys appearing before her to learn that she was one big, and I mean really big time loser. And I mean figuratively, intellectually and ethically. For anyone to claim that Halverson isn’t ethically inept would require one to actually believe that Michael Jackson isn’t somewhat quirky.
Judge Halverson’s Empirical Conduct
Upon ascending to her throne, Halverson immediately embarked on treating Mr. Jordan, her bailiff as her personal manservant by requiring him to perform the following:
Judge Halverson’s defense requiring Mr. Jordan to prepare her lunches
Unbelievably (maybe we shouldn’t be surprised), Halverson had her microwave and refrigerator located in her chambers bathroom, which courtroom staff said had “foul odors.” Oh, really? In defending her action in requiring Mr. Jordan to prepare her lunch almost everyday, Halverson said he “worries about her and says she needs to eat.”
Now, I suspect that you will at first blush find Halverson’s statement not only absurd but la
It is important to remember that Mr. Jordan was certainly upset about being treated as Halverson’s personal slave. Obviously, he knew that he was an “at will employee,” meaning Halverson didn’t have to justify his firing. And it goes without saying that Mr. Jordan needed the job and surely didn’t want to do anything to cause Halverson to fire him.
Judge Halverson’s Slurs re: Mr. Hunter
When Halverson’s mother visited her in chambers and saw Mr. Jordan, she asked her in his presence, “Who was Johnny? Is he your servant?” I suspect you’ve already concluded that Mr. Hunter is an African-American. No stereotyping here, right Mommy?
Judge Halverson demeaning her lackey husband
Halverson’s husband Ed is without doubt nothing more than a compliant lackey, ass-kisser, bootlicker, apple-polisher, and all-around gopher, and those are his good points. As a convicted felon, it would appear that he decided to cozy up to Halverson hoping that her judicial connections would be beneficial to him.
As evidence of Ed’s bootlicking abilities, he complied with Halverson’s demand that he appear in Court to answer under oath whether he had completed the household chores she had assigned to him. Now, ya gotta be one big time brownnosing lackey to follow this kind of idiotic order, right?
On more than one occasion, Halverson asked Mr. Jordan to shoot Al. She went on to tell Jordan that she would dispose of the body after he shot him. Of course he declined the offer; however, I’m sure he would have complied if she had asked him to shoot her. However, if he wasn’t armed with an elephant gun it would likely have been an exercise in futility.
Judge Halverson the “Slob”
Recently, the Clark County officials forced Halverson to clean up her home and property. The County cited numerous infractions:
Sadly, Halverson’s application for “Housekeeper of the Year” was withdrawn by Good Housekeeping after it received actual photos of her home and pool. However, it appears that she may well reapply for the 2009 award in the event that Eddie performs the tasks assigned to him.
Judge Halverson’s Potty Mouth
Halverson found it appropriate to scream at court employees by referring to them as bitches, dumb fucks, dumb asses, the evil one, the elf and the Antichrist. Kinda makes the ol’ adage, “mirror, mirror on the wall” or “it takes one to know one,” rather apropos, right?
Halverson also called Eddie a “stupid son-of-a-bitch,” “fucker,” “dumb fuck,” and “bitch” (her bitch apparently since he’s no longer in the joint) in the presence of court personnel. I fail to understand how the Judicial Commission could, with a straight face; claim that these statements constitute judicial misconduct. After all, Eddie is a “stupid son-of-a-bitch” for readily accepting the position as Halverson’s manservant, right? If I was Eddie the Felon, I would have gone to my parole officer, begged (actually demanded) that he revoke my parole and send me back to the joint. I can’t imagine that Eddie’s parole officer would have turned him down after learning of the cruel and unusual punishment he received at the hands of Elizabeth. And I’m confident that his ex-roommate Delmas would have been much more affectionate.
Judge Halverson sleeping on the bench
Court personnel testified that Halverson fell asleep every day in the courtroom and did so even while she presided over criminal trials. Several court staffers testified that court employees developed ways to signal each other when it was time for someone to wake her up. Halverson didn’t deny that she slept on the bench; however, she defended it by blaming it on some physical disability.
Miscellaneous Frivolity
In addition to the above, Halverson also made demeaning comments in her courtroom to attorneys who did not donate to her campaign. She admitted to so acting but laughingly claimed that she never discriminated against them for so acting.
In regards to staff complaints about her treatment of her husband Eddie during his frequent visits to the court, Halverson agreed that she would instruct him to stop coming by. Another Vegas judge suggested to Halverson that she get professional help. She agreed, saying she would like a business coach to help her and her staff communicate better. It is rumored that initially Donald Trump agreed to so act; however, he opted out when he discovered that she didn’t possess any redeeming qualities. After being rebuffed by “The Donald,” she apparently agreed to attend a week-long seminar at the O.J. Simpson Institute for Communication Skills located in a woman’s shelter in Boca Raton, Florida.
Judge Halverson illegally cavorting with jurors
On several occasions, Halverson went into the jury room while the jurors were deliberating in criminal cases. She then engaged them by answering their questions and/or posing questions to them. In once instance, her conduct forced the prosecutor to offer the defendant an unwanted and unwarranted plea deal that was only necessitated by her misconduct.
On other occasions, Halverson ordered in barbeque for the jurors while they were deliberating and joined in with them. She also provided gifts to the jurors. She defended this illegal action by claiming that she wanted the jurors to like her. I’m of the opinion that she did so in order to persuade the jurors to vote for her in August.
Judge Halverson’s so-called defense attorneys
Halverson employed Gamage & Gamage (should be Damage & Damage) to defend her during hearings before the Judicial Commission. I read the transcripts of the hearings, and they establish that in particular, attorney John Arrascada isn’t too bright, and I’m being overly generous.
Arrascada repeatedly objected when Mr. Hunter was testifying on the grounds that his testimony was hearsay, which it clearly wasn’t. It was apparent that the presiding judge was taken aback at Arrascada’s incompetence. On numerous occasions Arrascada objected on hearsay grounds when in fact Hunter testified to statements made directly to him and/or in his presence.
Now, if I represented a client in this fashion, I would anticipate that I would be the recipient of a malpractice action and rightfully so. If Damage & Damage billed Halverson anything approaching the legal minimum wage in Nevada, then she is rightfully entitled to a refund.
Apparently, Liz finally came to the realization that Damage & Damage had caused her enough damage (pun intended) in that she recently fired them. She is now representing herself in regards to the ongoing efforts by the Judicial Commission to oust her. Put simply, Liz decided she’d better off doing the heavy lifting on her own. (Las Vegas News and Review)
In firing Damage and Damage, Liz was able to obtain a 65-day delay in her upcoming hearing before the Judicial Commission. So now we have to weight another two months before the Commission boots Liz off the bench. And while we weight, Nevada taxpayers will continue to get hosed while Liz wolf’s down 10 grand a month in taxpayer funds.
Conclusion
Again, Halverson is proof positive that the judiciary is in many instances manned by an assortment of misfits. Of course you’ve got to ask yourself “How in the hell did she ever become a judge in the first place?” Unfortunately, she was able to dupe the voters in Clark County into actually believing she was qualified for the job when she clearly wasn’t.
Prior to duping the voters, Halverson spent 9 years as a law clerk in the Clark County District Court system. Law clerks now earn about $57,000 a year. I’m assuming that in 2000 the salary was around $40,000. If in fact Halverson was a highly competent attorney, I can assure you that law firms in Las Vegas would have been competing with each other for her services and she would have been earning well over $100,000 a year in 2000 and even more now.
After pooling-the-wool over the voters’ eyes in 2007, Halverson’s annual salary jumped from $57,000 to $130,000 a year, which I believe is about 5 times what she was worth. Unbelievably, Halverson is running for reelection on Aug 12, 2008. I can’t imagine that the voters in Las Vegas will be as easily duped this go-around, right? And if they do reelect her, then they deserve to be the recipients of Halverson’s anticipated high jinx.
Judge Halverson Removed from Bench
In late 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court finally ordered that Halverson be removed from the bench for her outrageous misconduct.
Sources:
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Las Vegas Sun
Nevada Judicial Commission
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